How to Stop Allergies and Manage Symptoms
By Bianca Herron
12 min read
If you’re one of the 50 million Americans who experience allergies each year, you’re familiar with the sneezing, runny nose, congestion, itchy, watery eyes, and other annoying symptoms they bring. Suffice it to say; allergies can make life quite miserable.
This misery can include the ability to get a good night’s rest and breathing quality air. During these challenging times, indoor air quality and getting the proper rest is more important than ever. These two things are essential for our body and brain to function correctly. For instance, a lack of sleep can weaken your immune system, impair thinking, and may even increase your risks of certain cancers and diabetes.
Breathing clean air is vital to our everyday life, but it can also help alleviate allergies, especially smoke, dust, mold, and other allergens. Ultimately, no one can function properly when an allergy is triggered. Moreover, if you or a loved one already suffers from an allergy, asthma, or breathing issue, breathing in unclean air can trigger a severe reaction like asthma attacks, hives, rashes, and more.
While it may seem hard, managing your allergy symptoms is easier than you may think. This is why it’s crucial to identify the type of allergy you have and determine the best treatment options for you. Luckily, airpurifiers.com has done the work for you.
What Are Allergies? How Do They Develop?
According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, allergies are triggered when our immune system views a particular substance as harmful. As a result, an allergic reaction happens. For some, an allergic reaction may include sneezing, wheezing, congestion, and itchy, watery, or red eyes. Unfortunately, allergic reactions can be more severe with allergy symptoms, including hives, skin rashes, and more.
While some allergies are seasonal (happens when individual plants pollinate) and perennial (year-round), many others are long-long. Here are some of the most common types of allergies:
- Pollen Allergy – This is one of the most common triggers of seasonal allergies. Experts refer to it as seasonal allergic rhinitis. It is commonly known as hay fever by most people. The majority of pollen allergies come from weeds, trees, and grasses, which are the most common causes.
- Pet Allergy – Many people are allergic to proteins in animal skin cells, urine, or saliva. This is especially true for cat dander because it floats in the air. Pet allergy symptoms include sneezing, a runny nose, and asthma signs such as wheezing and difficulty breathing.
- Insect Allergy – Stinging insects (bees, wasps, and fire ants ) and biting insects (mosquitos, bedbugs, and certain flies) can trigger allergic reactions. Insect allergy symptoms may include itching, redness, stinging, minor swelling, and pain around the bitten area. Many people are also allergic to non-stinging and non-biting insects such as dust mites and cockroaches. Both of these pests’ fecal matter and body parts trigger allergic reactions, including asthma attacks.
- Mold Allergy – When you have a mold allergy, your immune system will kick into high drive when breathing in mold spores. Mold allergy symptoms include a runny nose, sore throat, headache, fatigue, coughing, and sneezing. If you have asthma, you can have asthma attacks, and those with weak immune systems may experience a severe infection.
- Food Allergy – The most common food allergies in the United States are milk, egg, fish, shellfish, peanut, tree nut, soy, and wheat. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, even if you react to a particular food, you may not have an allergy but rather a food intolerance. These include lactose and gluten intolerance, as well as sulfite sensitivity. Food allergy symptoms include hives, itching, skin rash, trouble breathing, vomiting, and diarrhea.
Alen BreathesmartFive Ways to Manage Seasonal Allergy Symptoms:
1. Run an Air Purifier
Using an air purifier as a remedy to manage your allergies is a smart choice because it will help you sleep better and breathe clean air. Air purifiers are designed to pull the smallest particles out of the air, capture them in a HEPA filter, and then push clean air back out. Running an air purifier can help everyone breathe more comfortable by removing up to 99 percent of airborne particles, including mold spores, pet dander, dust, and allergens.
2. Try Non-Prescription Medications
There are several over the counter remedies that can help you manage allergy symptoms. These can include nasal spray, decongestants, and oral antihistamines. While one of these non-prescription medications, or a combination, may work better than another, they have all proven to help you manage allergy symptoms.
3. Try an Allergy Shot
Allergy shots can minimize your sensitivity to allergy triggers. According to Harvard Health Publishing, the treatment entails periodic injections of small and increasing amounts of substances that cause allergic reactions. Research has found that this treatment is effective for seasonal allergies that trigger itch, red eyes, sneezing, and nasal congestion.
4. Acupuncture Works
Research has shown that acupuncture is a viable solution to naturally manage allergy symptoms such as a runny nose, congestion, and itchy, watery eyes. Acupuncture is traditional Chinese medicine, which emphasizes specific placements of needles to alleviate medical conditions.
5. Vitamin C Helps
As a potent antioxidant, vitamin C can help reduce your allergic reactions and help your body fight infections. In fact, during allergy season, vitamin C can slow down your body’s overreaction to environmental triggers by decreasing your body’s histamine production, according to Medicare Express. Depending on the seriousness of your allergies, a dose between 500 to 5000 daily is recommended.
IQAirThe Bottom Line
If you’re one of the millions of Americans experiencing late-onset allergies, don’t feel like you’re alone. You’re now one of the more than 50 million Americans who experience allergies each year. Like your peers, you will have to learn to manage the annoying symptoms that come with allergies. No matter the allergy, no one wants to deal with itchy, watery, or red eyes, sneezing, congestion, or other severe reactions like asthma attacks, hives, and skin rashes.
Fortunately, there are many avenues to help you along your journey. Whether it’s acupuncture, a non-prescription medication, or an allergy shot, you have options to ensure you are not living in misery when your allergies are triggered. One of the best ways to manage your seasonal or year-round allergies is an air purifier. These units, especially those with a HEPA filter, capture up to 99 percent of airborne particles, including pollen, pet dander, mold spores, and more.
